7 Quick Takes (vol. 8)

--- 1 ---

I am so way ridiculously overdue for a blog post... but I have a good excuse!  Or several, which kind of maybe add up to over a month of no blogging (whoops).  And I promise to not use up all seven takes just listing my excuses!  I also promise a photo-filled quick takes to appease Nicole (and anyone else who comes here just to look at pictures of Michael and not to actually ready anything, which is totally fair), followed (hopefully shortly) by more posts detailing our epic adventures over the last month.

Indubitably more interesting than anything his Mama writes.

--- 2 ---

Our last month has been incredi-busy, but in a really good way.  The first weekend in July we headed out to Lincoln for a wonderful, relaxing, hot, and humid week with my parents.  We knew they'd be feeling kind of desolate after just finishing up six weeks of dog-sitting for my sister and brother-in-law, so we decided they needed some time with their grandson to cheer them up.

Despite Michael's rather stoic expressions in both pictures, I promise we all thoroughly enjoyed each other.  We're back to our weekly video chats now, but it's just not the same.  And Michael doesn't understand why Grandma and Grandpa aren't there to talk to him every time I turn on the computer.  When I sit down at the computer he comes running and demands "uhh!" (up!) so he can laugh and point and yell "bampa! bampa!" (used interchangeably for both Grandma and Grandpa) at the computer, but all he gets is Facebook.  Poor guy...

--- 3 ---

After our week in Lincoln we headed north to Fargo for the beautiful wedding of Alex's beautiful cousin Beth (and we welcomed another Michael--and another Nebraskan--into the family... I'm sure I didn't punctuate that correctly so as to alleviate any ambiguity about the number of people involved... oh well).  We drove across North Dakota to the tiny paradise of Mott for another beautiful wedding of another of Alex's beautiful cousins, Katie.

Michael monopolized Caraline on the dance floor--
even to the point of cutting in on the bride.

Michael's cake face.
Actually, his anything-he-wants-to-eat face.

Michael thoroughly enjoyed the dancing,
and my arms got quite the workout.

--- 4 ---

We had an absolutely lovely time at the weddings and spending time with family before, in between, and after.  But being pregnant during wedding season is no fun.  Free alcohol + growing baby = Alex drinking for 3 (as he says) and me just feeling jealous and somewhat sorry for myself as I try not to scandalize those who may not be keeping up on the latest research out of Denmark.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of pregnancy, I don't know if I can handle continuing to work--even part time--through the rest of this pregnancy.  For the first and second trimesters my hormones more or less behaved themselves in public, but this week I simply could not keep myself from thoroughly internalizing everyone else's problems at work. I know that I tend to internalize problems (okay, everything) to some extent anyway, but pregnancy hormones just made the situations (yes, plural) ridiculous this week.

--- 6 ---

But despite the havoc he's wreaking on my limbic system, Liam is certainly doing just fine.  He's crazy busy (especially at bedtime, of course) and his favorite pastimes are doing flips, kicking his brother, and kicking his father.  Maybe once the Olympics are over he'll stop trying to do every sport at once inside me.

--- 7 ---

Oops, slacking on pictures.  So to finish out this first post in forever, enjoy these moments from our adventures:

Go see Jen for more quick takes!